FUTUROLOGIST STUDY FINDS KIDS OF THE FUTURE WILL CREATE THEIR OWN CONFECTIONERY MIXOLOGY

21 November 2012; Ask any child what the sweets of the future will look like and you’ll hear exploding candy, sweets that can fly... but how about cabbage and cranberry toffee or toot sweets? But according to a top UK food futurologist, Lyndon Gee, this is the future of confectionery, where interactive and morphing sweets are not as far away as you’d think!

According to the futurology report, which has been developed to mark the launch of Wham Rocket, an exciting new sweet that takes the classic elements of a Wham bar, mixes them up, and creates a totally new, futuristic way to enjoy them, the next generation of confectionery will push us far beyond our limits... and it’s only 10-20 years away. From interactive experiences, to flavours and textures that can morph from one into another, confectionery is set to become so radical it will make our sweet tooth tremble.

Taking inspiration from the past and present confectionery market and removing the constraints of normal thinking, the study was compiled taking into consideration the likelihood of discovering new ingredients and flavours, the current capabilities and potential advances in manufacturing procedures and the opportunities for innovation in storage, transportation and packaging. It also considered cultural and socioeconomic factors that affect consumer behaviour.

UK food futurologist and trends predictor, Lyndon Gee, commented: “If you’d said 30 years ago, ‘I’m going to finish my smoothie, grab a latte and pick up some sushi’, most of the population wouldn’t have known what you were talking about! With children’s taste buds changing at such a pace, the nation’s confectioners will have to start taking sweets to the next level and innovating like never before.”

One of the predictions, and where the new product, Wham Rocket, started life, is in how interactive the confectionery eating experience is set to become. The future will see children dipping, mixing, shaking and customising their sweets to the consistency, strength and flavour they desire. Causing an individual taste reaction will be all part of the fun and within 10 years, kids will take charge of sweet invention, creating their own confectionery mixology.

Interaction and mixology are at the heart of Wham Rocket. Eaten with an edible foam dipping stick, the new sweet allows sweet lovers to take as much (or as little) of the extreme sour sherbet as they can handle. Add in some tongue-tingling sugar crystals and Wham Rocket will blast your taste buds into outer space.

According to the report, the playground is set to become a confectionery battleground, as children dare their friends to eat extreme and unusual flavour sweets. Taking inspiration from Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, as seen in Harry Potter films, new and strange flavours such as broccoli and custard, or beetroot and sherbet, will become the norm. What’s more, the report suggests that sweets will be able to morph into new flavours and textures, creating a whole new eating experience every time you chew.

Wham’s Lisa Sullivan comments on the research: “This is an exciting time to be a child. New and innovative sweets are being developed as we speak and confectioners are pushing our taste buds like never before. Whilst we don’t think broccoli flavour will ever take off in sweet-form, we do have some exciting developments in the pipeline that will take confectionery well beyond the norm. Wham Rocket is the first of many exciting products that take inspiration from old classics, but give us a new, exciting and interactive experience in which to enjoy them.”

Wham Rocket, the tongue tingling addition to the Wham family is available to buy now. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/WhamOfficial.